Editing City Series:Volume6b Chapter1 (section)

===Part 2===

Neue Silber’s cockpit was located in the flat nose.

Six men were in the surprisingly large room covered in instruments and controls.

The three illuminated by the instruments glowing in the dim light were the pilot, copilot, and navigator.

The other three were not part of the pilot crew. They remained in the shadows away from the glowing instruments and they carried an atmosphere very different from the pilot crew who were impatiently awaiting the takeoff order.

Theirs was a calm and unshakeable atmosphere.

One of them was a large elderly man sitting in a special seat giving him a commanding view of the cockpit. He turned back toward the two standing behind him. As he turned his powerful gaze toward them, his green German Air Force coat rustled and his two prosthetic arms rubbed against his seat.

His long gray hair and long beard swayed as he spoke to one of the men.

“The rain is really coming down. Isn’t it, Lieutenant Hellard Schweitzer?”

The enormous man named Schweitzer nodded. He wore the black coat of the Geheimnis Agency and a large prosthetic arm emerged from its right shoulder. He held the hand of that arm against his chest.

“We believe that is a dragon scout sent all the way from the UK, Lieutenant General Heiliger. There have been more of them since late last year, but we believe they are either monitoring the progress of the Panzerpolis Project or smuggling in some kind of materiel.”

When he nodded again, the women’s earring on his left ear gave a flash of its red stone.

Schweitzer ignored that and Heiliger did not mention it.

“I see,” said the gray-haired and gray-bearded general. “Your Geheimnis Agency’s Panzerpolis Project is not something they could monitor from high in the rainy sky. I believe the official announcement said it was a national modification project that will use the Vaterland ley line acceleration reactors to modify the ley lines and extract Phlogiston over the course of three stages. And during the third stage…”

“The Geheimnis Agency has already begun Erklärung adaptation training at various bases centered on Berlin and our HQ.”

“How valiant of you. But…as a member of the military, my primary interest is in the construction of that new Berlin you call Germania. The military has already begun construction of the underground city surrounding the four Vaterlands around Berlin. I hear the Phlogiston extracted from those Vaterlands will be used to create a fortress city capable of running indefinitely.” He remained entirely expressionless. “If the Panzerpolis Project based on the Vaterlands is completed and Belin can be used by the military…perhaps it will become known as the Eingeweide City.”

Heiliger’s somewhat irritated comment received a response.

It came from the dragon roaring up in the sky.

Heliger looked up at the cockpit’s ceiling as if viewing the unseen sky beyond.

“Have they still not decided to fight back? Would your Geheimnis Agency immediately fight back against any who intrudes on our airspace?”

Just as Schweitzer prepared to respond, the aide by his side, a tall and gaunt elderly man in a black coat, spoke for the first time.

“I believe that question would be better suited for General Graham than for the Lieutenant, Air Force Lieutenant General Heiliger. We are no more than Neue Kavaliers, so we have no command authority.”

“You’re a strict one, Bermark, but that is not why I asked.”

“Then pardon me.”

Bermark nodded and Schweitzer sighed at his aide’s usual way of speaking.

Then Heiliger turned his gaze toward Schweitzer.

The power of his gaze had changed somewhat. It was now a searching look.

Schweitzer asked a question in response.

“Lieutenant General Heiliger, may I ask something?”

“Ask.”

“This military ship will soon be on its way to the Geheimnis Agency HQ in southern Germany, but why? We were only given approval to accompany you since we were headed there anyway, but I would still like to know the purpose of this ship.”

Heiliger responded with no expression on his face.

“There is a reason I must visit there once a year. …Do you find it that unusual for a military man to visit your HQ? I do visit every year at this time, even if they are not official visits.”

Schweitzer looked to his aide. Bermark was one of the oldest members of the Geheimnis Agency and he spoke without turning toward Schweitzer or providing any kind of emotional response.

“Lieutenant General Heiliger is the only member of the military allowed to enter the Geheimnis Agency HQ.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier, Bermark?”

“You did not ask.”

Heiliger smiled at that response. A small but genuine smile.

“Lieutenant, this discussion is not yet over. It is my turn to ask you a question. Why were you summoned to your HQ?”

“Our orders were to provide a report on the recovery of components from the Sylphide from that incident two years ago, to attend the commissioning of the first ship for the Gard-class Eingeweide aerial warship at Base #8, and…”

He paused to choose his words.

“To inspect the excavation at the Alfheim Meteorite Pit located near Base #8.”

“The Alfheim Meteorite Pit?” asked Heiliger.

Bermark nodded and explained.

“Excavation of what remained of P. Wagner’s lab began two years ago, but the other day, some Geheimnis Agents were suddenly instructed to visit the excavation site.”

“The agents given that order,” added Schweitzer, “were the ones involved in the Sylphide Incident two years ago.” He crossed his arms. “According to the Unreif Germane, the Heidengeist Messiah who once saved Germany was born by falling to Alfheim along with a meteor and she returned there once her work was done.”

“I am aware. A one-armed youth is said to have protected where she slept and died. But I thought historians were still divided on whether or not the meteor impact site really was in the depths of Alfheim.” Heiliger smiled. “Lieutenant, I heard you met the girl with the Messiah implant two years ago. What was she like?”

“She insisted she did not want to run away.”

“I see. Your tone suggests you do not oppose the idea of taking her as your leader.”

Heiliger’s seat creaked as he stood up.

He was tall. His eye level was even higher than Schweitzer’s. His chest was not as thick as Schweitzer’s, but his shoulders were broader thanks to the two prosthetic arms. The cockpit immediately felt more cramped.

He looked down at Schweitzer.

“Your father was my right-hand man during the Great War. I still remember Bertecht Schweitzer, the Barrier Master who protected his territory with barrier spells instead of piloting a Panzer as a Neue Kavalier.”

“My family name is all I inherited from my father, but-”

“You also inherited his spells, his will, and his Titel. You are Der Held and the Schallmauer Zerstörer who fulfilled the Messiah’s prophecy. A messenger informed me that the Sofort Leser who leads the Geheimnis Agency made another prophecy two weeks ago.”

Schweitzer nodded.

“Her prophecy was identical to the Unreif Germane’s 3rd Section of Daily Life.”

“Yes, one of the six sections that has been passed down as a poem. I hear the Messiah will be revived if this poem is fulfilled. …It is a strange prophecy, but it must be true. So, Lieutenant, I have something important to tell you, who have received some small glimpse of the future.” A breath. “We are a military of the ordinary people who cannot see into the future, but we believe the Panzerpolis Project will produce Germania and become a key to our national defense. And it is your generation that must face the tragedy that the Sofort Lesers have prophesied will occur in ’43.”

“––––?”

“That is the true meaning behind your summons this time. I guarantee it.”

Then a voice came from the navigation seat in the center of the cockpit. It sounded panicked.

“The dragon is descending! They’re…beginning forced recon!!”

Following that report, a noise rushed by outside.

It was a siren. The long, wailing sound indicating danger was the second alarm.

Schweitzer saw Heiliger turn to look back.

“One of those pathetic dragons that can’t even fly without the Union Jack? When is the Air Force attacking?”

“They are coordinating with the surrounding bases to prepare a counterattack,” answered the navigator. “The attack will begin in 2 more minutes.”

“Not soon enough,” replied Bermark.

His words were answered by the roar aircraft engines as they left the hangars. The sounds of an attack being prepared passed through the rain, the shadows, and Neue Silber’s armor to reach their ears.

But Bermark ignored it and pulled his white gloves on tighter.

“How many people can that thing kill with two unimpeded minutes? And how much can it see? Our land must not be allowed to be defiled by that dragon’s retinas and our skies should only be home to the true dragon that obeys the Messiah.”

“Do you intend to head out and fight, Bermark? After stopping me from doing so earlier?” asked Schweitzer.

Bermark turned toward him to respond.

“It would be foolish to use a mere hypothetical victory as evidence of our Geheimnis Agency’s standing. Once it drops below 1000, my magic bullet can slay it even in this storm.”

“That does sound like what the Geheimnis Agency would do,” said Heiliger. He still had his back to the other two men. “Before erasing his emotions, my brother Graham said your duty is not to national defense but to destiny.”

“Then, Lieutenant General, even a Sein Frau such as myself must ask. What is the purpose of your Tragisch Eingeweide arms which came from below the Karlsruhe home and were later modified by Marsch Gant?”

Bermark pulled out an automatic handgun. It had a fang decoration on the side.

“My Freischütz’s purpose is to defeat my enemy.”

Just as he said that, a roar rumbled down from the sky. It was incomparably louder than the previous ones.

The ship shook as Schweitzer nodded to his aide and prepared to leave the cockpit.

Just then, a new shout came from the navigation seat.

“Hm? Something…something is flying in from the north behind the dragon! Three crafts moving at high speed!”

“Can you identify them?” asked Heiliger.

The navigator was hesitant to respond.

“I cannot! I have never seen readings like this before. One of them is flying out ahead of the others.” He took a breath. “It is approaching the dragon at supersonic speed!!”

The question on everyone’s mind was answered a moment later.

A new voice spoke over the cockpit’s radio. It was a young male voice that sounded a bit hoarse.

“This is the Geheimnis Agency Army Division 1st Division 1st Independent Mobile Grösse Panzer Unit. Beginning counterattack.”